Feral Curse
by Cornell Darkheart
Summary: Sabretooth keeps with his tradition of paying Wolverine a visit each year on his birthday... but this year is a little different.
1. The Visit

"Leave it to Ol' Logan to miss out on 'iz own party," spoke the tall, trench-coated man, leaning on an elaborately decorated table. The legs of the table begged for mercy, as it was covered almost entirely from corner to corner with expertly prepared dishes, steaming and perspiring. The centerpiece was a glorious cake with four layers, which bore a figurine of the missing X-Man, poised heroically.

"Oh, ease up, Remy," responded a woman sitting nearby. She wore a brilliant red sweater that her flowing hair seemed to blend into, watching as yet another food dish levitated passed the Cajun X-Men, taking it's place on the only empty spot. Gambit lifted the lid of the pot, bracing himself as the wave of steam erupted.

"Remy sees you've decides to make that silly soup of yours," he snickered, "Jean, you know Claws likes my extra spicy gumbo more than dis frail concoction you got goin' on here, no?"

"Oh, I think this year will be a little different," Jean said, smiling. As the two exchanged banter, the lid over the pot Gambit prepared lifted itself and several bowls of diced garlic fell in, as if a drunken invisible chef got fed up with the gumbo. A snicker came from another man who noticed the gesture. He had dark hair and wore a leather jacket and sunglasses that shined a dark purple. The man stepped up behind Jean and the latter turned her head to welcome his tender lips.

"Hello, Scott. Have you contacted the other X-Men?" she sighed happily.

"Piotr, Jubilee, and Kitty are handling a situation in Russia at the moment. Kurt will be bringing Bobby a little late, but the rest are ready whenever. He's going to kill us when he realizes we've prepared another surprise party," answered Cyclops as he sat beside his wife.

"He always sez dat, but do he ever do it?" Gambit smiled, pulling out a deck of cards. "Anyone for a quick hand or so?"

"He took an inch off your hair and murdered two tables last year, Remy. And no, we're fine, thanks," responded the telepath as she waved her hand about in a circle. Behind Gambit, a wooden spoon stirred the tainted gumbo about.

"Ol' Remy's startin to worry a little, dough. Mon chéri never take dis long to distract Logan."

"I'm sure everything's fine. Rogue probably just lost track of time," Scott responded, checking his watch.

-

"This is one hell of a present," came the gruff voice from the bar. The speaker was a muscular man with muttonchops, wearing an old wife-beater and jeans. He downed the foaming glass greedily, "This is my favorite bar in all of Canada. How'd you know?"

"Us girl's gotta way of knowin', is all," answered the woman on the stool beside him. Only her face remained uncovered by her leather outfit. Her bushy brown hair fell over her shoulders, streaked white in the front. She looked away, slightly embarrassed; she knew from having touched him once when she was in need of medical attention, using her mutant absorption to borrow his mutant healing, and his memories too.

"Well, I'd never have made it here in the time it took you to fly us out here," he returned, setting his glass down with the other seven empty glasses in front of him, reaching for his wallet. The woman stopped him.

"Never you mind that, Logan, shug," she smiled, putting the money on the bar. They rose and walked out of the smoke filled room. The bartender called out, "Good seeing you again, Jimmy!"

"Yes, good seeing you again, Jimmy," snarled another voice from the back of the bar. Logan stopped dead in his tracks, a single drop of sweat breaking free. _He followed me all the way here?!_ The voice broke out in laughter.

"Victor… I'd almost forgotten about you," Logan growled in response, turning around slowly to face the speaker. Massive, unkempt Victor Creed rose from his chair, kicking up the table he sat at toward a gathering of patrons between the two of them. They scattered as the table collided with the floor, exploding into splinters. The bar began to clear out as the bartender cried out, "Who the hell are you?"

Victor ignored the bartender, answering Logan in a belittling tone, "Forgotten me? But don't you know what day it is?"

"The day before your name appears in the obituaries?" Wolverine answered, clenching his fists in anger. The eerie sound of metal sliding against metal broke the air, as three claws emerged from between the knuckles on both hands. Sabretooth, in contrast, unfurled his fists. His own grotesque fingernail claws seemed to grow ever so slightly. Before either could react, however, the blast of a shotgun tore through the right side of Sabretooth's face and shoulder. The bartender had stepped out from behind the bar, advancing slowly.

Sabretooth had been caught off guard and fallen over, but was quickly back to his feet, his flesh rebuilding itself and expulsing the bullets from his body. As each one clinked against the bar floor, the bartender lost a little more of his courage, until he began a retreat. Several things happened at once. Sabretooth leapt at the bartender, but Wolverine leapt at his rival. The two mutants collided.

"Rogue, get him out of here, now!"

Slightly in shock, Rogue obeyed, escorting the man to the edge of the woods.

Sabretooth smirked as he rose to his feet again, brushing off his ragged, brown overcoat "I'm going to enjoy gutting you, runt."

Wolverine spit in disgust, "Good luck with that one, bub."


	2. Surprise

(Some people have asked about the 54 cards statement. Standard deck has 52 normal cards and 2 jokers, that's why)

No more words needed to be exchanged. No more stares. Their bodies sang their hatred for each other as they leapt towards one another, claws from both factions tearing into one another. Wolverine landed his fists against the older mutant's chest, his claws pushing through the other side, while Sabretooth's hands gripped Wolverine's shoulders, his fingernails sunk through, tearing at his muscles and pushing him away in the same movement. With his effort, Sabretooth managed to get his counterpart far enough away that the metal claws slipped out of his body, to which he responded to by throwing Wolverine into the back of the bar, completely tearing out one of his shoulder muscles.

Logan hit the building, unleashing a feral scream. The wood shattered around him and slightly buried him, but in fury, he managed to knock most of the wood away with his good arm. Back on his feet, Logan ran out of the mess of wood, his torn shoulder still healing, and swung his claws at Creed's scraggly throat. The sheer speed of the move almost caught Sabretooth off guard, and he stepped back. He was quick enough to avoid decapitation, but the claws had cut him deep enough to get his windpipe. He coughed and gagged until the wound closed itself, but Wolverine wasn't waiting for that. He landed three stabbing punches: downward on one shoulder and two in the stomach. When he could breath again, Sabretooth bellowed like a hungry cougar and grabbed the other mutant's arm, twisting it and pushing him forward. This allowed Sabretooth to get behind Logan, which he did, immobilizing him in a full nelson.

"It still burns you up, doesn't it?" Creed hissed in Howlett's ear. "I've always been the stronger animal," he added as he sank his feral teeth into Logan's neck.

"Maybe, but never the smarter one," came the gruff, weary retort, as he jumped. He had no slack to move forwards, so as he jumped, he leaned back. The weight of Logan and his adamantium skeleton caught Creed completely off guard, and the two fell backwards, with Logan landing on Victor. An audible pop could be heard.

"That's your arm, isn't…" Wolverine began, but it was only dislocated, and Sabretooth quickly popped it back into place as he threw Logan again, this time into a nearby an abandoned car. The mutant collided with the vehicle in just the wrong way. The car was started, but was left behind when the two mutants were spotted. The force and position of the collision caused an explosion.

Rogue cried out, as she had returned just in time to witness this much of the fight. _Ah have to help him_, she assessed and rushed Sabretooth. The feral mutant had caught Rogue's scent though, and as she rapidly approached, he stepped out of the way and threw her to the ground. Before she could get up, he straddled her thighs, leaning over her and sniffing, "Hrmm… Almost forgot about the snack Logan brought with him. I hope he doesn't mind sharing." He leaned over her body. Rogue thought she would die from the ferocity of his scent. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck, crying out in vain. Sabretooth sank his teeth into Rogue's neck. The thick, gritty saliva dripped down her neck.

Soon after he did, though, his strength faded. His teeth began to shrink and much of his unkempt hair grew back into his head and face. His fingernails took on the appearance of a normal human's, and he rolled off, unconscious.

Wolverine was upright again, several burns and cuts healing and he ran up to Rogue, who was half conscious. He rolled her onto her back and growled as he saw her. Her eyebrows had become extremely thick, and her hair had grown out. Facial hair that wasn't there before became long and wily. Her outfit strained itself to contain her larger, more muscular body. Her gloves had become mutilated as fingernails had grown out of them. The wound on her neck had completely healed up though, and all that remained was the thick saliva on her neck.

"It's going to be okay, kiddo. I'm taking you back to the Mansion," Wolverine whispered, picking up the younger mutant like an injured puppy. He carried her to the nearest vehicle that was intact and placed her inside, taking the driver's seat and speeding out.

-

"How much longer vill it be before he arrives?" came the question from one of the blue-furred man. Most of the X-Men had gathered for the surprise party in Wolverine's honor, but it was late in the night, and there was no sign of him.

"Remy thinks something happened. We gotta figure out where dey are and help dem!" Gambit grumbled, anxiously shuffling a deck of cards.

"Calm yourself, Gambit. They did not take the X-Jet or any form of long distance communication, and the Professor is currently utilizing Cerebro to track their location," came the reassuring voice of the larger, blue-furred man. His rested his furry, feline hand on Gambit's shoulder.

"Zhey are both capable of taking care of zhemselves. Just put some faith in zhem and in God," added the other one, crouching besides the Cajun man. His long, pointed tail curled up around him, and anxiously, he gripped it in his three-fingered hands.

Gambit piled the deck back together and charged it in frustration. The deck exploded, sending 54 charred cards into the air. They floated around aimlessly, threatening to land in the dishes, until they were telekinetically stopped and stacked, thrown away. Jean Grey added her council as she received a telepathic message, "The Professor says that they're five minutes from the mansion now."

"Five more minutes everyone. Take your places!" Scott cried out. The gathering of mutants all hid, several taking Kurt Wagner's three fingered hands and vanishing as he teleported away. Gambit stayed amongst the dishes. _Nothin' to worry 'bout after all. It's gon' be gumbo time soon,_ he smiled. The five minutes dragged on. Despite the satisfying news, he still worried, but he wouldn't dare let Logan see that.

A little while after, the wooden gate of the garden was kicked in. Logan stomped through. Remy LeBeau snickered, "And where have you been? We'z thought you'd forgotten where you lived."

"Where's the Professor?" came the growling response.

"He's in Cerebro," he answered. As Logan tried to push past him, though, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You don't get to see anyone 'til you try Gambit's gumbo." Gambit held the spoon up to Wolverine's mouth. To appease the Cajun, he quickly slurped the contents and gagged. To show his appreciation, he approached the pot full of gumbo and slashed it in half.

"Too much garlic."

"Da hell? Dat's not good enough reason to ruin my gumbo! I didn't even use dat much garlic!"

"You got bigger problems to worry about then spilled gumbo, bub," he finished and walked into the mansion, leaving Gambit to mull over the statement in silence. As he did, he stuck his finger into the destroyed pot and tasted some of the liquid, gagging too.

"Too much garlic, indeed."


End file.
